Large hailstones can reach extreme velocities and transmit and deliver destructive energy to vehicles. Hailstones 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter fall on the average at a speed of 40 meters per second (88 miles per hour). Even small hailstones can cause serious and permanent damage to car and truck sheet metal panels and glass surfaces. In 1991 U.S. property damage from hail was estimated to be in the millions of dollars.
Most of the automobile covers on the market are designed to protect the vehicle from dust, rain, and sun light, and most do not have a padding layer to provide protection from falling hailstones or debris. One such cover is the design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,127 to Fournier.
However, some covers are known in the art, but most have disadvantages to the level of protection they provide, their ease of installation, and/or their ease of storage. One automobile hail shield described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,206 to Heck includes a plurality of "fluid-filled" inflatable chambers. In reality, the Heck patent discloses a method to inflate the chambers with compressed air from an air compressor pump or by transfer of pressurized air from a vehicle tire. While this design may provide a substantial level of protection, it cannot be installed and removed quickly due to the time necessary to inflate and deflate the chambers. Additionally, if tire air pressure is used for the inflation source, the vehicle may be left with a flat tire.
Another hail shield described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,074 to Timerman, which includes several strips of thick foam rubber spaced apart on a cloth cover. The thick foam strips keep the cloth cover spaced from the surface of the car provide a buffer space to absorb the energy of the falling hailstones. This design also may provide reasonable protection, but is not easily collapsed for storage due to the thickness of the foam strips.
Yet another hail shield as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,825 uses a similar technique of multiple cushioning elements, but in this case the cushioning material is comprised of multiple plastic rods which are quilted together into a textile-based car cover. Again, while this design can be rolled up in one direction, it cannot be easily folded lengthwise with respect to the rod lengths.
A design which rolls up into a desirable shape is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,015, but it is suitable only for the protection of the side panels of a car from impacts by other car doors ("door dings"), and is not designed to protect the top surfaces of a car.
Further, most car covers and hail shields of the prior art employ adjustable length straps or lengths of elastic cord to affix them to the car. In the case of the elastic cord, most designs include only a length of cord sufficient to stretch between the mounting point on the car to a close-by corner or edge of the cover material, producing a material stress point where the cord attaches to the cover material and requiring the cover material itself to endure the stress of being pulled at opposite ends by opposing cords. These types of attachment schemes are typically not suitable for use in high winds, such as often accompany strong storms or while the car is being transported on a truck.
Therefor, there is a need in the art for an affordable automobile hail shield that fits most vehicles and which is strong enough to resist large hailstones. Further, there is a need in the art for this automobile hail shield to be lightweight and to have all of its attachments devices incorporated into the shield so that it can be unrolled and quickly and easily for installation on a vehicle by a single person. Additionally, there is a need in the art for the attachment scheme to minimize stress on the cover material while providing attachment strength suitable for use in high winds. Finally, there is a need in the art for this hail shield to be compactly storable such that it can be kept in a car trunk when not in use.